There is a need to film coat tablets in the pharmaceutical and the nutraceutical industries. However, the coating of tablets to date has usually provided a low gloss and a disagreeable slimy mouth feel. Even clear unpigmented films do not present a high gloss finish.
One attempt at coating in the past was to use hydroxypropyl methyl cellulose (HPMC) as described in my previous patent, U.S. Pat. No. 5,480,479. Other efforts have been made by others in attempts to improve the appearance and organoleptic properties of coated tablets. For example, see U.S. Pat. No. 4,828,841—Porter et al. which uses alginates to attempt to improve gloss. Also, attention is directed to U.S. Pat. No. 6,395,298—Flanagan which uses the gum gellan to attempt to produce gloss. Both of these efforts have not been satisfactory. The coating method disclosed by Porter et al. produces a finish which is hazy after a build up of material. Flanagan is very hard to prepare and apply and cannot be used at concentrations above 2% gum solids in the coating suspension.